Remember how you felt right after an actual vacation, or an unexpected patch of downtime in the middle of a workday? It's not just relaxation—you managed to turn off what one work-life writers calls The Noise, and that's important.

Michael Lopp, a.k.a. Rands, seizes on those moments of unexpected revelation that occur in the strangest places. Only they're not the strangest places—they're exactly where you need to be sometimes, so you can get away from task lists, fellow workers, and everything else and think about what's happening.

Advertisement

With your hands firmly around your coffee cup, you stared around the room and your mind drifted. I love this place. All coffee shops should be built of dark wood. And all furniture. In fact, I need a new desk… made out of dark wood because… I hate my job.

There it is. It's certainly a topic that's been on your mind, but it took a solo trip to the coffee shop during a post-Christmas decompression period for you to actually hear what was important to you. More importantly, it sticks.

During the drive home you realize: I hate my job because, while I'm busy, I haven't learned a thing in the last six months. That night over dinner, you find yourself shaking your finger at your best friend: Shame on me, six months of uselessness and that changes - now.

What happened when you get away from your own sources of Noise, and find some Signal amidst a complete lack of input?